“I could use some more practical clothes...”
“This town isn’t exactly the place for buying practical clothing, but I do know a place where you can get a warm sweater. It’s just down this way.”
He led her to a shop called Don’t Sweater It. She pushed open the door and tinkling bells rang out. Inside, the shop looked like the place where the idea for every ugly-Christmas-sweater party in the world had originated. At the front, an older couple wearing matching red, green, and white sweaters that said “Merry Christmas!” in giant block knit lettering were working in tandem on another garish holiday sweater, their knitting needles clicking and clacking as they worked away. “Last Christmas” by Wham! played on the stereo.
“This may not be the high fashion you’re used to, Anna,” Josh said with a wink. “But you’ll definitely find a cozy sweater here.”
Side by side, they browsed through the racks. Josh pulled out a royal blue cable knit with the words “I Love You a Latke” in bright yellow. “I think I have to buy this for my mom,” he said, folding it over his arm.
It was something Beth would have bought for her dad, and Anna felt a pang of sadness. She distracted herself by pullingout a mint green sweater with a cute little elf on the front. It was tacky, yes, but the wool was soft and the color appealing.
“You don’t have anything... not holiday-themed?” she asked the knitting couple as she laid her chosen sweater down beside the cash register.
“We don’t keep old stock,” the woman answered with a smile, never pausing in her knitting. “Everything we knit and don’t sell goes to homeless shelters in Ottawa. What you see here is everything we have now.” She clacked her knitting needles together for emphasis. “But honey, it’s the holidays! December is for...” She held up the sweater she was knitting with her partner. “Red, green, gold, silver! It’s for...” She put down her knitting needles and picked up a bedazzling tool on the counter beside her. As she pointed it at Anna and Josh, they both couldn’t help but duck. “Bedazzling! Those sweaters are just what you two need. Sweet of you to buy the ‘Love You a Latke’ sweater for your man, by the way.Quitethe catch, that one.”
“Oh, he’s not my man.” Anna found herself suddenly blushing furiously. “We just met.”
“Just met?” The woman tilted her head, as if confused. “I could have sworn you two had known each other forever.”
“The sweater’s for my mom,” Josh said—and Anna was almost certain that underneath his close-cropped beard, he was blushing, too.
The man behind the cash register was now looking at Anna closely. He put down his knitting, then reached under the counter. “It’s the season of giving,” he said. “And I’ve been searching for the perfect person to gift this to.” He was holding a knit toque with not one buttwopom-poms: one red, onegreen. Before Anna could protest, the woman had laughed with delight, grabbed the toque, popped out from behind the counter, and placed the hat on Anna’s head.
“My hubby is right, it’s perfect for you. Now,thatis festive, isn’t it, honey? Try the sweater on, too. You can wear it out of the store.”
“You really do look... festive,” Josh said, gazing at her sidelong as they left.
“Let’s be honest, I look like Christmas threw up all over me.”
He turned and tweaked one of her poms while gazing into her eyes. “It’s cute,” Josh said. They were now standing still, facing each other as soft snowflakes fell between them. Anna felt a fluttering in her chest, but it was quickly tamped down by guilt and worry. She and Nick had just had an awful fight and declared themselves to be on a break. Was it okay to be flirting with a stranger in the gently falling snow as if she didn’t have a care in the world?
Then Anna thought of Mr. Dadu’s advice about abstaining from worry. There was something about Snow Falls—and Josh’s fun, easy manner—that made pushing her worries to the side surprisingly simple.
“Okay, we have one more stop to make before I head back to work,” Josh said. “I need to show you what the true necessities in Snow Falls are.”
They walked along in companionable silence until he said, “Feeling better now? You seemed so upset in the phone booth, I was worried.”
As Anna thought about his question, she stopped walking, took a deep breath, and looked around her at the little snowytown she had landed in unexpectedly, then into the inviting brown eyes of Josh Tannenbaum. “I’m not sure,” she said truthfully, thinking of the upsetting conversation with Nick. “I have some life stuff I need to deal with, but I think I can handle it.”
“If you need anything, just let me know, okay?”
She couldn’t help but bask in his genuine concern. “Thanks, Josh,” she said. The truth was, she felt very close tohappy. Almost... free. Just as she had the thought, she smelled something absolutely tantalizing. “Oh, my goodness, whatisthat...?”
The corners of Josh’s eyes crinkled as he smiled. “Our final stop of the Snow Falls tour. Come on,” he said as he led her into a bakeshop called Gingersnaps.
Inside, “O Tannenbaum,” one of Anna’s all-time favorite Christmas songs, was playing. You couldn’t listen to this carol and not have your heart warm several degrees. Nat King Cole’s voice was like butter melting luxuriously on a fresh-baked muffin. But, Anna noticed with surprise, this bakery had a lot more to offer than just standard bakeshop favorites like muffins and cookies. “Rugelach!” she exclaimed. There were more flavors than she had ever seen. “And babka!”
“Yes, and check this out! Artisanal dark chocolate gelt.” He ducked his head and spoke softly in her ear over the din of happy customers. “On the surface, this looks like a Christmas town through and through—but Hanukkah is well represented here, too.”
“I love this place!” A few patrons stood along a live-edge wood bar counter drinking espressos and chatting. All the baked goods were gorgeously displayed in a sparkling-clean glass case. “There are too many choices,” Anna groaned. “Ihave no idea what to try. Christmas cookies? An olive oil donut? Mini Yule logs?”
“Do you trust me?” Josh said, and Anna felt that unexpected flutter yet again. This time she didn’t chase it away.
“Yes.”
“Then you have to order the upside-down pineapple cake rugelach. It’s the best thing you will ever taste, I promise.”
“Done. And a cappuccino,” Anna added.
